Tuesday, May 24, 2011

1. What misgivings does Macbeth have and why? Note where they appear, by Act, scene, and line number(s)?2. Why is Fleance's presence on stage so important in the play in Act II, i?3. How does Banquo, in lines 15-20, 24-26, 33, 36-39, intensify the dramatic action of Act II,i? (These are on page 51.)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Post what you have found in Act I that reflects admirably on Macbeth's character.
Include who says the words, as well as the page and line number(s) on which they appear.You may wish to go to youtube, and watch the interview with the porter.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Act I, i1. When does the power of a witch increase? Why?2. When do the three witches plan to meet again?3. With whom and where will this meeting take place? 4. Why does Shakespeare employ verbal opposites in this scene? 5. How is the natural order of things treated in the witches' incantations?6. What mood do the witches, what they say, and the and thunder and lightning establish at the outset of the play? 7. Why do you think this scene is so short?Act I, ii1. What do we learn from the bloody captain?2. Who is Macdonwald and what has he done?3. What has been done to him, and by whom?4. What do we learn from Ross and Angus?5. Name the rebel, the traitor, and the foreign king causing King Duncan problems. 6. How does King Duncan reward Macbeth for his services to the crown? (What are these services?)7. What words (almost epithets) are used to describe Macbeth?8. Why do you think there is such extensive conversation about Macbeth before he appears on stage?9. Why is Duncan himself not involved in the fighting?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Get to bed early
Get to school by 7:00 AM and go to room 440
Conserve your energy for Part Two of the Exam
Keep track of time
Read and follow the instructions
Mark up the Exam Booklet as you read it
Pay attention to the literary devices you are told to comment on
Have confidence in your thoughts
Make citations from the texts to support your thoughts
Write about what you understand in detail
Keep you pen moving and write like an angel

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies 5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 10And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp 15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?20

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

How is the poem structured? (stanzas 1,2, and 3) What happens in each?Why is the personae of Aunt Jennifer's neice used as a voice?Which words have pregnant meanings beyond the text?How are we made to understand the relationship between Aunt Jennifer and her husband?What do these tigers represent?What is this poem's subtext?Why is both the object Aunt Jennifer created as well as Aunt Jennifer the sunject of this poem.Why is the poem entitled "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers?How do the the rhyme scheme and other poetic devices such as alliteration contribute to the poems' effectiveness?